1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to digital contents management and execution, and more particularly, to management and execution according to playback positions of digital contents that an application intends to access.
2. Description of the Related Art
As digital broadcast technology has developed with Information Technology (IT), representative types of data broadcast technologies, such as OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) or Multimedia Home Product (MHP), have become widely used in a home network that is constituted by a variety of types of multimedia devices in a user's house as well as in a Personal Video Recorder (PVR). As data broadcast technology develops, types of contents that a user is able to interact with by using applications provided by data broadcast have grown such that a user can now record contents and can gain access to remote contents that exist in the home network.
FIG. 1A illustrates related art digital broadcast contents.
In related art digital broadcast, when digital contents 100 for broadcast include program contents 110 and 114 and advertising contents 112 and a user has viewed contents up to a current viewing position 120 of the digital contents 100, the user cannot any longer access contents 122 prior to the current viewing position 120 and can access only contents 124 of the current viewing position 120 at a predetermined time. Therefore, even if the user wants to play back the previously played contents 122, in conventional digital broadcast, the user is not able to.
FIG. 1B illustrates digital broadcast contents using PVR technology.
A technology for recording broadcast contents so that a user can view desired broadcast contents at an arbitrary time has been developed. This is being developed in the form of PVR technology. In FIG. 1B, when digital contents 100 are recorded using PVR technology and the recorded digital contents 100 are played back using PVR technology, the recorded digital contents 100 begin to be played back from a start position 130.
In this case, when the user views the recorded contents up to a current viewing position 140, views other contents and then wants to view the recorded contents 100 again, the contents 100 are not played back from the current viewing position 140 and are instead played back again from the start position 130.
FIG. 2 illustrates conventional digital contents with regards to playback positions.
In order to solve the problems of FIGS. 1A and 1B, a technology for designating a playback start position with respect to digital contents has been developed. The playback start position is provided to and is used in an application for data broadcast by using a format setting a media time of the digital contents. Thus, when the user records broadcast contents 200 including broadcast program contents 210 and 214 and advertising contents 212, designates a playback start position 220, stops playback of the digital contents 200 and wants to play back the broadcast contents 200, the user can view the broadcast contents 200 again by playing back the broadcast contents from the playback start position 220.
FIG. 3 illustrates the case when digital broadcast contents are used by a plurality of applications.
By setting a playback start position to a media time of recording contents, the playback start position of the recording contents can be set. However, when there is one or more subjects that want to set a playback start position in this manner, a plurality of desired playback start positions may also be used. In other words, a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) application sets a playback start position 320 in a program 310 of digital contents 300, and a Digital Program Insertion (DPI) application inserts advertising contents in a playback start position 330.
FIG. 4 illustrates conflict between a plurality of applications with respect to digital broadcast contents.
In current technology for designating a playback start position, when there is a request to set the playback start position of digital contents, all information cannot be accepted in only one playback position. In other words, when a DVR application 410 sets a playback position in advance but a DPI application 420 later sets a desired playback position, the playback position that is set by the DVR application 410 in advance is updated to the playback position that is desired by the DPI application 420. Similarly, when a home network application 430 also sets a playback position, the playback position that is set by the DVR application 410 or the DPI application 420 may be changed. Therefore, when one or more requests to set a playback position exists in one stream of digital contents, conflict between applications or playback positions occurs.